SAIVA-SIDDHANTA

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240 THE PKRSOXALITY OF GOD.
He becomes the Supreme Bliss, as God becomes one with the
soul. So understanding Him, will he not know with the soul
1
what is understood by the soul?.
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ujn n
"That day
1 knew my God, the same was not understood
by the Gods. The bright effulgence lighting the inside of
,
soul and body,
it is said, does not know ! Who else can know ?"
my
Of course, it is also said in these works that God cannot
know *.fiu#c&fltLHr e-esarafrtLp&fr and it is
pointed out by Sivajnana
Svamigal in his Dravida Maha Bashya that this only
means that God s consciousness is not like the consciousness of
the individual man, which is limited, and cannot become cons
cious unless it
forgets, and can only understand in relation
("change is essential to consciousness" Bain). This human
consciouness is called ^ilOerar/fffl/i God does not possess this
limited &LLewney. His consciousness is what transcends, all
I limitation and all relation and is absolute, as in His Akanrlakara,
Ithere is no distinction of this and that, there is
nothing
\Him u Quir-isSlffoeor
a/jjatflsvsor."
out of
) Coming to the question of God being personal or imperson
al, \ve are not quite sure in what sense our Indian writers use
these words, but they mostly take it as meaning Saguna c and
Nirguna. There is some difference of opinion as regards the
connotation of the words among European writers. Some use
it as implying individuality and limitation ;
others use it as not
meaning individuality, and this is the more prevalent and
cultured opinion. We take the following definitions from a
vocabulary of Philosophy..
Person: A being intelligent and free, every spiritual and
moral agent, every cause which is in possession of responsibility
and consciousness, is a person. In this sense, God considered
as a creating cause is a person.